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Fair Trade Commission Probes Treasury Bond Bidding Rigging; Potential $11B Fine
Finance · Major Banks · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-06
The Korea Fair Trade Commission is investigating 15 financial institutions for alleged collusion in treasury bond bidding, with potential record-breaking fines.
What Happened
Collusion Allegations: The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) is investigating 15 major securities firms and banks for allegedly sharing sensitive information regarding interest rates, prices, and volumes during treasury bond auctions. The entities are suspected of engaging in collusive practices over a period of more than three years starting in 2020.
Record Fines: Given that the volume of the affected bids reached approximately 76 trillion won, the potential fines could reach up to 15 trillion won if the maximum penalty rate is applied. This would mark the largest fine ever imposed for a collusion case in South Korea.
Industry Defense: The involved financial institutions argue that the information exchange was merely a standard practice for monitoring market trends, denying the allegations of collusion. Disputes regarding the calculation method for the relevant revenue are expected to be a key point of contention during the upcoming hearings.
Future Timeline: The KFTC plans to hold a plenary session in the third quarter to finalize the level of sanctions. The outcome of this case is highly anticipated as it could significantly impact the stability of the government bond market and the operations of Primary Dealers (PDs).